


Do you Believe in Reincarnation, Eren?

by freckledsatan



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe, One Shot, Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-10
Updated: 2014-10-10
Packaged: 2018-02-20 15:24:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2433647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/freckledsatan/pseuds/freckledsatan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Found this old thing while looking through my folders and thought it wouldn't hurt to upload it just for kicks. Written mid-2013.</p>
    </blockquote>





	Do you Believe in Reincarnation, Eren?

**Author's Note:**

> Found this old thing while looking through my folders and thought it wouldn't hurt to upload it just for kicks. Written mid-2013.

The first time Eren saw the man he was sat up on a hill in his dreams. Being 6 years old, Eren couldn’t figure out why the man was crying. The man had no reason to cry, he was wearing a pretty awesome cloak, all green and torn with wings on the back like a bird, flapping in the wind. Eren kind of wanted a cool cape like that, it made the man look like some sort of superhero. Eren would have gone over and told the man just that if Eren could move from his spot, unfortunately dreams were tricky and Eren could only overlook the other person, sat on the grassy hill, looking out into the wide valley below.

Eren thought the man looked very sad and very angry and very lonely. He wondered if ice cream would help the man. Ice cream always helped him when he was sad. Watching tears streak the face of the stranger as he unsteadily got to his feet and turned his face up to the sun made Eren feel torn and wobbly in his tummy and he decided he didn’t like this dream anymore. He tried moving his feet, calling to the man but his voice was lost to the wind and no matter how hard he tried he could not make any progress forward.

The man in front of him wiped a hand over his eyes, turned on his heel and walked away.

Eren did not like this dream at all.

When he woke up the next morning he was positively inconsolable and neither his mother nor father could do anything to help him, not even ice cream would work.

He never saw the winged cape again.

But he did see the man.

The second time Eren saw the man with black hair and hard eyes it was in another dream. This time he was 10 years old and determined to get a reaction out of him.

“Hey, hey mister!” Eren screamed, the man continued to ignore him as Eren’s voice seemed to fade off into nothingness. The louder Eren screamed to the man, the less sound his voice made. It was incredibly frustrating.

The man looked sad again, intimidating almost. But not scary, maybe he should have been scary. He had a scary face but Eren was 10 years old now and not scared of anything. Eren knew the world, knew everything. Had his entire life planned out. This time they were in a room, a pretty basic room, white washed and plain. It was boring, really. Nothing like the beautiful hillside or the green and red winged cape he remembered. The man was sat at a table, alone, a cup set in front of him, Eren could smell the sharp fragrance of black tea and it jolted his tummy, same as the last dream had. He wasn’t as sad this time though and he refused to cry again. The man raised the cup to his lips and Eren snorted loudly at the weird way he was holding his cup. That wasn’t the right way to hold cups!

“Mister, you’re holding your cup like a baby.”

Without lifting his gaze the man smirked around the rim of the porcelain cup and replied smoothly, “Don’t be rude, brat.”

The next day Eren asked his mother for a cup of black tea and got told off for holding his teacup wrong. He told her not to be rude and got sent to bed early.

The third time Eren saw the man was in his dreams when he was 13 years old. This time he was the one crying. This time the man hadn’t been there at all and it was just Eren, alone. Eren had two friends but was always so alone, now more than ever in his entire life. The dream was dark and overbearing, crushing down on him as he sat amidst the fallen leaves of a forest, dark browns and reds crushing his heart in their dull grasp and squeezing tightly to the point he couldn’t breathe and his chest felt as if it was going to rip into bloody pieces. He hadn’t even expected the man to be there but there he was, standing proudly among the trunks of the trees, his eyes for the first time, connected with Eren’s and he approached carefully. Crouching in front of the kid (Eren was most certainly not a kid he was thirteen years old) and placing a steadying hand atop his head. It was an oddly soothing gestures and Eren found himself crying and crying. But at least his chest had stopped hurting.  

The next day he attended the funeral of his mother and kept the man in mind. As he watched his father walk away for the last time.

The fourth time Eren saw the man seemed like many years later, he was 16 years old and had all but forgotten the strange visions of a short, irritable man in his dreams. His reminder came upon another hill, it was different this time, snowy and barren but oddly pretty if not for a lingering sense of danger. The storm whipped around Eren and blew powdery white flakes into his eyes and hair. The man was dressed in a simple white shirt and jeans. The stranger had his head raised to the sky, white in stark contrast to his dark hair but working well with his pale skin, exposing his neck to the elements, adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed and lowered himself to the floor, lying in the snow.

Eren couldn’t move his feet, couldn’t open his mouth to shout. He got angry, he was good at getting angry, in fact it was one of the few things he really was good at. He subconsciously clawed at his dream, trying to get to the man lying in the snow, worrying for the man’s well being. But all he thrashing about landed him was a jolt as he fell out of his bed and with it, out of his dream. But before he woke up he swore he could see those eyes, watching him with that familiar, judging expression laced with bemusement and the words, “Calm down, kiddo.” Carved on to those soft, rose lips.

Eren didn’t start any fights the next day and Jean even asked him if he was feeling well. Eren wasn’t sure.

The next time he met the man was in a dream barely a week later. This dream was weird, as if watching an old movie, it kept cutting in places, blurring out and distorting the audio. What Eren could make out was the man, it was always the man, just the man, pinning him to a hard bed, the man pinning him with his arms, his legs, his lips on his throat. Dark hair falling into darker, lust-hazed eyes. The man was atop him, straddling him, attacking him with tongue and teeth and Eren could only respond with an equally fiery response. His gut ached and his heart burned and as the other man lowered a hand down to the waist of Eren’s trousers and lifted the hem of his shirt with the other he could quite happily tell you that there were other parts of him beginning to coil like a taut spring. Eren bucked his hips into the man’s, savouring the lustful moan it drew from the other’s lips and Eren responded in kind as the man threw all patience to the wind and wrapped a hand around Eren’s dick.

Then Eren woke up.

Cussed a lot.

Cursed hormones.

And went to finish himself off in the shower.

The next time was three months later, Eren had initiated this meeting himself. He didn’t know how, but he certainly knew why.

This dream was quiet, peaceful even. Amidst the familiar park Eren knew well, Trost Park a memorial to the site of an apparent war a shit ton of years ago. It was a bit of a fucking dump really but good for lousy teenagers and their lousy drinking habits. It would have been a normal evening in his dream if not for the man leaning against the memorial statue of a worn down kid dressed in a strange uniform, his friends often joked it looked a little like him. But the statue was old; real old. Only still standing due to the constant restoration of the council. Who knew what it once really looked like. Still, it was his favourite place to be and lent a hand in calming his troubled thoughts as he stared on at the man waiting for him.

He moved forward a sure step at a time, his dream molding willingly around him like water.

“Who are you?” The words are out of his mouth before he had even time to think them through. Such were the trappings of dreams.

“I’m you.” The man replied curtly, pulling a dark jacket around himself and meeting Eren halfway. There were merely a foot away from each other, eyes boring into one another’s.

“What do you mean?” Eren cocked his head and drew his brows together in a frown.

The man’s expression never seemed to change, never seemed to betray a single emotion, it didn't help in calming the knots forming in Eren’s stomach, “I am a projection of yourself and I think you know that.” It felt as if the wind had been knocked from Eren’s lungs.

“So, you’re not-”

“Real?” The man interrupted, brushing past Eren, whom turned on his heel to watch the man walk away, “Levi was real. I, however, am not.” and with that the man was gone and with it the dream.

Eren stared at the ceiling long and hard after that particular dream.

But after it all, at least he had one thing.

A name.

Levi.

He visited a fortune teller.

He was running out of options and he had no clue what to do about the visions anymore. Dreams though they may be he needed to confide in someone. Someone who wouldn’t judge him through eyes filled with amusement at the very idea of Eren’s supposed imaginary friend growing up. He’d done research, tried to pin answers.

They’d all led him to this point.

It was cold, a little too cold for Eren’s liking. He pulled on a hefty jacket that weighed down around his shoulders but sufficiently blocked the biting chill and grabbed a scarf from the basket filled with the odd menagerie of clean socks and miscellaneous winter accessories. Feeling particularly intrepid he stepped out of the house without gloves and opted to stuff his hands into his pockets, slamming the door behind him and staring out down the street.

It took half an hour to get to the fortune teller, who lived in a run down flat in one of the scummiest parts of town. Eren had no allusions as to what he was about to face, chances were he was about to meet an old gypsy woman in a shop decorated with doilies and gypsy charms. Was gypsy even the politically correct term?

Probably not.

He wasn’t sure what had drawn him to this point if he was being completely honest with himself. A chance to confide, a chance to maybe gain some sort of knowledge of himself. He was at the age to consider soul searching now, right? Right?

Again, probably not.

Still, the fortune teller would cost him money and he was willing to pay it. Anything for a real voice rather than endless wikipedia articles on the subject of dreams.

He was expecting many things, all of them fit into the preconceived idea of a little crazy woman with too much make up and too many cats.

He didn’t expect the broad, blonde man with hard, blue eyes to open the door when he knocked and politely invite him inside with a voice like warm honey. In fact he was so taken aback he near fell into the room and ushered out a quick apology as the man gestured for him to take a seat in a surprisingly modernly decorated waiting room. It was stark white, fairly plain and fairly basic. A table in the middle with chairs and a plain coffee mug sat out in the middle, the beverage inside still steaming as if left unfinished.

Eren did as instructed and nodded when told to wait.

And wait he did.

Watching the steam slowly abate from the mug.

For almost half an hour.

He was considering finding someone to ask about the delay when a woman stepped into the room. Glasses tilted lopsidedly on her nose, hair pulled into a slightly-too-high ponytail and a calculating look in her brown eyes, Eren rose to meet her and introduce himself but she silenced him with a finger to her lips.

Eren was beginning to regret this entire trip.

This was far too bizarre for his liking.

Her eyes trailed up and down his frame, the frown settling on her face didn’t suit her and her expression had distorted into something Eren couldn’t put his finger on. Before she turned away sharply and marched out of the room.

Wondering what he had done wrong Eren turned to the front door. He was done with this, he didn’t care. It wasn’t worth it, this had all been a mistake and in the future he would stick to his Wikipedia pages.

As soon as his fingers touched the handle, that male voice spoke out again.

“You can come through now.”

With a sigh of defeat Eren turned around and followed Mr. Smith through the door to the right of the room and into a corridor, leading into another fairly plain room. This room was small. There was a table in the middle, big enough for two either side and opposite him sat the woman he had just met. She didn’t seem to want to meet his eye.

Mr Smith shut the door behind him on his way out, leaving him in a room with the strange woman.

“Take a seat, Eren.” The woman pointed to the chair in front of him and he did as he was told.

“Sorry, have we met before?” Eren probed and the woman’s eyes positively snapped up to his as she froze in place.

“No. Why would you think that?”

Slightly concerned for his wellbeing and the sanity of the woman before him Eren shook his head and shrugged his shoulders, “Just wondered how you knew my name.”

The woman let out a breath and her shoulders sagged just slightly, “It’s on the label of your scarf.”

“Right.” Eren muttered, self-consciously tucking his scarf into his coat.

There was silence for a little bit. Before the woman seemed to realise that she should say something.

“Sorry, call me Zoe. What can I do for you today, Eren?”

“I- Uh.”

“Well a twenty minute session would usually cost you $60 but you’re our thousandth customer so you get twenty minutes free.” Zoe laughed boisterously. A little too much. But it suited her and oddly enough, left Eren feeling at ease.

“What? You’re kidding, really?” Something smelt off about this but Eren wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

“Nope, no joke. Would you like a general reading?” Zoe prodded at his leg under the table with her foot and it caused him to jump, hit his knee on the table and cuss loudly. He bit down on the joint of his thumb to stop him making anymore noise, it was a nervous quirk he did a little too often. Mikasa often joked he’d have permanent teeth-marks there. Zoe kept apologizing but stopped when she made eye contact with him, her laughter and apologies trailed off into another awkward silence.

Eren took his hand out of his mouth.

“I’m sorry is this a bad time? I could go…”

Zoe shook her head at that, “Oh. No, nonsense. Ignore me I just saw a ghost is all.” She laughed too loudly again so loudly Eren had not a single chance of asking what the fuck she meant by that or why she found it so god damn hilarious.

“Anyway. Eren. Reading?”

Glad to finally get down to business Eren shook his head, “Actually I just have some general questions if that’s okay?”

“Sure, shoot!” Zoe bobbed up and down excitedly. Eren was beginning to doubt how accurate this entire thing was going to be. She seemed insane.

“Well, uh, it’s a long story. I mean-” He rubbed a hand across the back of his neck hesitantly. All too aware of how weird what he was about to describe sounded, “I’ve been seeing someone in my dreams all my life, always the same man.”

Zoe didn’t reply simply nodded him on, her eyes kept flickering away from him, still unwilling to make eye contact. But her face had taken on a serious expression once again.  
“He’s pretty short, black hair- Like an undercut, you know? He always looks angry and he’s just...He’s always been there. Whenever I’ve needed him the most and sometimes it feels like I know him. But I don’t. I just thought maybe, just maybe I know it sounds crazy but-”

“Does he have a name, this man?” Zoe interrupted him. Her eyes were firmly fixed on his now, she leaned forward, elbows on the table and hands clasped under her chin.

“L-Levi.” Eren started.

The speed in which Zoe jumped out of her chair was incredible, knocking it backwards from under her with a bellowing, “YAHOO!” She half leapt over the table and straight into the door, scrambling back to shout, “ERWIN.” on the top of her lungs, the shouts getting quieter to Eren as she ran out of the room and presumably down the corridor. He was left alone in the room.

Shaken.

Very shaken.

Shocked.

Time passed quickly and next thing he knew both Zoe and Mr Smith had settled back into the room. Zoe had somewhat composed herself but still jiggled in place excitedly. Eren quirked a brow and gave up his polite, social exterior.  
“Okay, what the fuck is going on?”

Zoe and Erwin exchanged a glance. Zoe spoke first.

“You have a figure following you, Eren.”

It wasn’t the response Eren was expecting, “What?”

“A figure. A projection of yourself, call it an imaginary friend.” Erwin finished for her, the gleam in his eyes betraying his composed features.

“Yes. I have been. All of my life. I want to know what the fuck it means.”

“It means, it means many things. It means you’re not alone, means that there is someone out there waiting for you.” Erwin laughed.

“What.”

“Okay, Eren. You know all those crazy stories about reincarnation? How some people are just fated to meet in every lifetime?”

“...Yes.”

“Tell me, Eren. Do you believe in reincarnation?”

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Depending on response to this I may write more.


End file.
